Hi Everybody.
Allan is one of my favorite players and I’ve studied his playing and his technique very carefully. I’ve been focused on developing high level legato technique for several years now, including the “all hammers” approach.
There are a few conceptual difficulties people often have when they first hear of descending hammers, and how it can be physically possible. This can be dispelled via physical reasoning.
Suppose we are performing an ascending hammer on. Suppose for the sake of discussion that we fret a note with the index finger, pluck it and hammer a whole tone above with the ring finger. There is a very brief, imperceptible period of time between the moment when the flesh of the ring finger makes contact with the string and the moment when the string makes contact with the fret. During this period, the original note (with the index finger) has been damped by the contact with the flesh of the ring finger, and the higher note cannot be ringing, as it has not yet been fretted with the ring finger. Thus, by simple physical reasoning, there absolutely must be a “gap” between the original note and the hammered note.
We should not think the gap being eliminated, as this is impossible. Instead, we should think of the gap as having been shrunk to the point where it is imperceptible. This is relatively easy to ensure with an ascending hammer, and so the gap is not perceived.
Suppose instead we wish to perform a descending hammer. Again, for discussion, we fret a note with the ring finger and pluck. If we are to descend without pulling off, we must lift the ring finger and hammer below with the index finger in a concerted movement.
Let us examine the gaps in this instance. There is a brief period between the moment when the string stops contacting the fret under the ring finger and the moment when the ring finger stops contacting the string. During this period, the original note with the ring finger is not ringing, as it is not fretted. Further, the string must be damped, as the ring finger is still in contact with the string.
There is another brief period where between the moment the index finger contacts the string and the moment the string make contact with the lower fret. Again, during this period the lower note cannot be ringing, as it has not yet been fretted.
Let t denote the time variable. Let a and b be the initial and terminal time values of the first period mentioned above. Let c and d be the initial and terminal time values of the second period mentioned above.
We have three distinct scenarios:
-
The ring finger ceases to be in contact with the string before the index finger makes contact. That is, a<b<c<d. In this case, there is a period where neither finger is in contact with the string, and thus the string cannot be damped. Unless the lifting of the ring finger was performed perfectly, this will result in a noise caused by the brief ringing of the open string.
-
The index finger frets the lower note before the ring finger ceases to be in contact with the string. That is, a<c<d<b. In this case, the energy of the index finger hammer is wasted. The index hammer cannot sound the lower note as the ring finger is still in contact with the string, damping it. Thus, the lower note will be silent unless the lifting of the ring finger was performed poorly, which would be a very weak an ineffective pull-off.
-
The string ceases to be in contact with the higher fret under the ring finger, the index finger makes initial contact with the string, the ring finger ceases to be in contact with the string and the string makes contact the lower fret, in that order. That is a<c<b<d. In this case, the string ceases to make contact with the higher fret, and is damped by the ring finger. There is a brief period where the ring and index finger both contact the string, but no note is fretted. Then, finally the lower note is fretted by the index finger and rings due to the energy of the index hammer. That is, we achieve a descending hammer. The if the period of simultaneous finger contact is made as short as possible (a<c=b<d is the limiting case), the index hammer imparts more energy into string vibration.
Scenario 3 is the only correct descending hammer. If the total time period a to d were made imperceptible, then it would indistinguishable from the ascending hammer, which necessarily also has a gap by previous argument.
Scenarios 1 and 2 are mistakes, with scenario 2 being the worst possible outcome.
Scenario 3, the true descending hammer, is very difficult to execute, but it is possible, both in theory and in practice.
Now, the above should convince you that the descending hammer is possible. But how do you begin to teach yourself to do it? I can only share what worked for me.
What worked for me was to intentionally begin with scenario 1, and attempt to refine until scenario 3 is achieved. Beginning with scenario 1 is very beneficial, as it prevents you from fretting the lower note before the higher finder ceases to be in contact with the string. That is, this approach prevents scenario 2, which is the worst possible outcome (silence or a bad pull-off).
As we’re usually (and should be) familiar with pull-offs before we attempt to learn descending hammers, there is a natural tendency to “load” the index finger into fretting the lower note, but this is a recipe for scenario 2.
The correct descending hammer is valuable as the tone difference between ascending and descending hammers is more consistent than when using pull offs.
If you perform a descending hammer correctly when unplugged, you will hear the noise of the string vibrating between the nut and the lower finger (index in my previous discussion), similar to the unplugged performance of a hammer from nowhere. This parasitic noise is of little concern on an electric guitar, as it will not be heard when plugged in, however it makes the technique impractical on an acoustic.
Ok, so know we have the descending hammer. Let’s talk Holdsworth’s legato and legato in general.
First, Holdsworth absolutely, definitely used pull-offs, despite what anybody else says. I’ve studied video of his playing very carefully. There are many instances where he descended from the higher note the the lower note and the the lower note is clearly already fretted. The lower note isn’t picked, and rings out clearly, so it must be a pull-off.
There are other instances I have noticed in his playing however where the lower note does not seem to be already fretted and the lower finger in rapidly making contact with the string. To me, this looks and sounds like a true descending hammer. He might be very quickly loading the lower finger into fretting the lower note for a slight pull-off, but I don’t feel that is what is happening in many cases.
So Allan Holdsworth never eliminated pull-offs entirely from his playing, and it’s unlikely anybody else ever will. Holdsworth also picked a lot more than most people think.
What Holdsworth did do, was refine his pull-offs, minimizing the amount that the pull-off movement bent the string, while still ensuring a clear note. Some Holdsworth fans refer to this as a “lift off,” and it regularly is confused with the descending hammer in discussion.
Assuming you practice and become comfortable with the descending hammer, legato playing will include picked notes, hammers (ascending and descending) and pull-offs (and slides, but well get to that later). Now, we have to blend them together.
It is crucial to understand that there is a point beyond which hammering a note harder doesn’t really make the note any louder. Instead, the extra force results in the note bending slightly sharp, or results in noise from any other strings that are not damped. Therefore, there is a maximum volume we can generate with a hammer.
The maximum volume of a hammer is below that possible from a pull-off, which is in turn lower than the maximum volume possible a picked note. The level of our hammers is then the limiting factor in legato volume, and we must learn to match the level of our picked notes and pull-offs (which we refine into the lift-off) to the level of our hammers if we intend to optimize the legato sound.
We also need to minimize the percussive quality of our pick attack. A pick made from a softer plastic like nylon can help to reduce pick attack, compared to something like tortex or ultex. Edge picking helps also. Hybrid picking with the flesh of the finger tips also helps to reduce attack.
As for when to use a pull-off (lift-off) or pick stroke instead of a descending hammer, it’s largely contextual. If you want the lower note to be accented, a pick stroke or slightly firmer pull-off is preferable. If you’re performing wide stretches, it’s often very difficult to descend from the pinky to the ring finger with a descending hammer, because it’s difficult to generate a sufficiently powerful descending hammer, and a slight pull-off or light pick stroke is often necessary. However, when you’re comfortable with the descending hammer, they can be done at high speeds, as there is no requirement to “load” the lower finger into fretting the lower note, as in a pull-off.
The easiest patterns when using pull-offs are the “rolling” motions, for example (on any string)
-5-6-8-6-5-
or
-5-7-8-7-5-
These are surprisingly among the more difficult sequences when using all hammers. Instead of “rolling,” the all hammers approach tends to have a “juggling” feel.
Finally, I leave you with what I believe to be the single most valuable legato exercise that is possible. When cycled, this pattern combines every possible coordination of fingers when ascending with hammers and descending with descending hammers or pull-offs, and is excellent for finger independence. Using one finger per fret on any string, we have the 12 note sequence:
-5-6-5-7-5-8-6-7-6-8-7-8-(repeat)
I practice this with all hammers and with hammers and pull-offs. On every string, in every position. When using all hammers, the challenge is to ensure that the descending hammers ring out clearly and that the gaps described above are imperceptible. When using pull-offs, the challenge is to ensure that the lower finger is loaded and ready to receive the pull-off.
There is also the reverse pattern
-8-7-8-6-8-5-7-6-7-5-6-5-(repeat)
If you have any questions (or spot any slips, this was a massive post) please don’t hesitate to ask.
